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How to Write an Award-Worthy Autobiography in 5 Steps

Savannah Cordova

Table of Contents

1. make a list of life events, 2. try to recall all the details of each one, 3. write chronologically from your birth (or earlier), 4. weave in the wisdom of your older self, 5. wrap things up on a contemplative note.

An autobiography, in the simplest terms, is a full account of your life that you write yourself. Many of us have read great memoirs in recent years—bestsellers like Educated and Crying in H Mart —but autobiographies, specifically, are more elusive than you might think.

This is because a true autobiography contains every detail you could possibly include about your life, in chronological order. A memoir, on the other hand, revolves around a particular theme or time period in someone’s life, describing only select memories in service of this goal.

So, if what you’re really after is advice on how to write a memoir, I’d recommend this “memoir method” post from Joe Bunting . But if you’re ready to lay out the entire story of your life—warts and all—read on for how to write an autobiography in five (relatively) simple steps.

Since an autobiography must be comprehensive, you can start by listing out all the events that your book will include—that is, every major event of your life (and some minor ones too!).

The earliest events might be your birth, the birth of any siblings, starting school, and coming to realize aspects of your personality and long-term interests that emerged in childhood. The “middle” events might include finishing school, attending college and/or getting your first job, and the advent of any significant relationships—both friendships and romantic relationships. The later-in-life events might include pursuing any other big jobs or degrees, getting married and/or having children, moving house, starting major hobbies, and perhaps even retiring and planning for your “golden years.”

Again, be sure to include all the important events in your career or in your personal life. Obviously, anything that changed the trajectory of your life should be added to the list. However, the nature of each event will depend completely on who you are and how your life has unfolded.

Indeed, going back to the idea of including “minor” events, it may be that some pivotal moments in your life could seem “minor” from an outside perspective. For example, say that one day you happened to spot an unusually shaped cloud, and it caused you to have a revelation about your life and change course somehow. The revelation is the key thing, but don’t leave out the circumstances that led you to it—no matter how irrelevant they might seem.

To be fair, it can be tough to remember every event of importance, especially when some of them happened a long time ago. In that vein, take your time to make this list before you get into actually writing the book. It should take at least a few hours (if not a day or two) to outline everything to include in your autobiography.

If you thought you were done after simply listing out those events, think again. Not to sound like a broken record, but this process is all about being thorough; in order to succeed, you need a solid foundation from which to work. So now, at this next stage, try to remember everything about the initial events you’ve listed.

Say that the average person has around 40 to 50 major life events or pivotal moments to write about in their autobiography. (If you have fewer than that, you may want to reconsider whether you’re really ready to write the whole story of your life —perhaps a memoir would better suit your purposes.) Now, brace yourself: before you start writing, you should put together at least half a page of notes on each of these points.

Sure, some events will warrant more detail than others. But this should still average out to around 20 to 30 pages to serve as the aforementioned foundation for your autobiography. And how should you expand on these events, you might ask—that is, which details should you focus on to ensure your “foundation” is truly useful?

Here are a few questions to jog your memory and help you identify what’s most important:

Which sensory details (still) stand out the most? That is, not just how each scene looked, but how it felt at the time, to the best of your recollection. For example, if you’re recounting the experience of starting school, don’t just say what your elementary school building looked like. Instead, talk about the fragrant leaves on the ground or the chill in the September air; the sounds of birds chirping and parents chatting at early morning drop-off; that first week when you skinned your knee on the playground; etc.

What were the people around you saying? Speaking of chatting, you’ll also need to recreate important “dialogue” in some scenes, just as you would when writing a novel . While you can’t take quite as many liberties as in a work of fiction, you are allowed to paraphrase what you can’t remember precisely. At this stage, just record the gist of whatever was said—you can finesse the details later.

Why was this moment important? Make sure to identify in your notes why each event or moment was so important. For many of the classic “life milestones,” it will be obvious. But try to dig deeper into exactly how each event affected you… even if you didn’t realize it at the time. Articulating this will make your autobiography all the better, allowing you to segue more smoothly between events and draw more resounding conclusions about your life.

Having written up these extremely detailed notes—basically an FBI dossier on yourself—you’re now ready to start drafting your autobiography.

You may have jotted down your notes in any order; indeed, you probably jumped around randomly as different memories came back to you. However, now that it’s time to actually write your autobiography, you should try to write it chronologically.

Why? Because if you want to refer to something that happened “in the past,” it’s best to know how you presented it to readers in earlier chapters. In an autobiography—as in life—each event depends on what came before it. If you jump around while writing, your autobiography could end up feeling messy and uneven, and you risk leaving out important elements simply because you skipped them on the list.

So as you draft, do it in order of events. Begin with the first life event on your list—likely your birth—or go back even further, if you wish. Many of the greatest autobiographies of the 20th century, like Lee Iacocca’s self-titled book and Nelson Mandela’s Long Walk to Freedom, begin not with themselves, but instead with their family history. Mandela’s book technically opens with the meaning of his name, but he then doubles back to describe his father and the history of his tribe, the Thembu people. And Iacocca’s autobiography begins not just with his father, but his grandfather arriving in America.

In summary: while your birth is a tried-and-true starting point, you’re allowed to briefly touch on your parents and/or family history first. That said, once you’ve established these elements, it’s time to get down to brass tacks. Dive into writing about your life, and try not to deviate from the chronology—no more family history, flashbacks, flash-forwards, or anything else that will distract you or your reader. You can still keep things interesting and “readable” by using those elements we discussed: sensory details, dialogue, and organic transitions between events.

And if you happen to remember something that would work well in a different part of the book, don’t switch gears to that part right now. Instead, just jot it down in your notes and come back to it later. You want to preserve the “flow” of writing chronologically—otherwise, again, you risk choppy prose and a subpar reading experience.

Of course, just because you’re writing chronologically, that doesn’t mean your insights in each section should be limited to the knowledge of your past self. On the contrary, one of the most valuable elements of an autobiography is the injection of present-day reflection and wisdom. Without this extra layer, your autobiography could be written by anyone .

So this is where you’ll incorporate those previous answers to the question of: “Why was this moment important?” Here’s a great example of “wisdom weaving” in the early pages of Mandela’s autobiography:

“I learned my lesson one day from an unruly donkey. We had been taking turns climbing up and down its back, and when my chance came, I jumped on and the donkey bolted into a nearby thornbush. It bent its head, trying to unseat me, which it did, but not before the thorns had pricked and scratched my face, embarrassing me in front of my friends [...] 

“Even though it was a donkey that unseated me, I learned that to humiliate another person is to make him suffer an unnecessarily cruel fate. Even as a boy, I defeated my opponents without dishonoring them.”

While the younger Mandela may not have been able to articulate (or even consciously identify) this lesson, the older Mandela understands it as a crucial moment for his moral development. Yet he explains it so smoothly that it does not take the reader out of the narrative at all—only paints a more detailed picture of the boy and man he would become.

As you’re trying to inject some wisdom of your own, here are some more thought-provoking questions to ask yourself:

How did I feel about this at the time, and how do I feel about it now?

Can I draw parallels between events at different times in my life?

How have I affected the people around me, and how have they changed me?

Is there anything I wish I’d done differently?

What do I want readers to take away from this?

If you’re struggling to articulate what something meant to you—even if you know it was important—running through these questions might help you out. Sometimes your takeaway will be a simple moral lesson; other times, it will be a more complex tangle of emotions.

Whatever you discover about yourself, don’t shy away from putting it down on the page. Your autobiography is the place to be clear-eyed and candid. If you’re not telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth about your life, there’s little point to writing this book at all.

As your autobiography draws to a close, you may find yourself struggling with how to end it, especially if you are still relatively young. But rather than trying to fight that feeling, the best strategy is to lean into the uncertainty and end on a note of contemplation.

Consider the following: How do you feel having completed your autobiography? What’s next for you? What are you most looking forward to—or, indeed, dreading? How will you use the lessons you’ve learned to tackle the rest of your life? Will you be writing multiple autobiographical volumes, à la Karl Ove Knausgård?

You might think the answers to these questions are best left off the page. But if we’ve established anything over the course of this guide, it’s that an autobiography should strive for comprehensiveness.

On that note, remember that it doesn’t matter if you don’t have it all figured out or if you’re unsure of what’s next. Once again: Just lay it all out on the page. Readers will appreciate your honesty, and you’ll feel much more satisfied with the final result.

Speaking of which: if you really want to write a satisfying autobiography, but feel intimidated by the lengthy process, consider working with a ghostwriter to get your story on the page. What’s great about this kind of project is that you can involve another writer as much or as little as you want. They might simply advise on structure and chip in to edit the occasional chapter—or they can conduct in-depth interviews with you and take on the lion’s share of writing. Basically, your main goal is to get your autobiography out there, and a ghostwriter can (and will) help you out.

You can also use autobiography-specific editing tools to get your draft into tip-top shape. ProWritingAid is particularly useful for elevating those sensory details we talked about, with the help of its Sensory Report. You can also use ProWritingAid to improve your pacing, sentence structure, and other elements that will turn your autobiography from good to great—not just great like “better than good,” but like Mandela-level great.

Sure, it might sound like a tall order, especially for the novice writers out there. Yet with enough time and effort (and the tips in this article), you’ll find that anyone can write an autobiography—one that not only captures their life story, but also engages readers in a profound way. If you’re willing to put in the hours, your own story could be next. Good luck!

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Home / Book Writing / How to Write an Autobiography and Publish it in 7 Easy Steps

How to Write an Autobiography and Publish it in 7 Easy Steps

Contrary to popular belief, you don't have to be a famous figure to write an autobiography. In fact, if you want to write a novel or some other nonfiction book but just don't know where to start, an autobiography could be an ideal project to tackle. 

There are many different kinds of autobiographies from which to choose, so you don't have to keep a narrow focus or use a cookie-cutter mold for your book or autobiography essay. Read on as we tackle how to write an autobiography. 

• Different kinds of autobiographies.
• Steps to help you write your autobiography.
• Tips to strengthen your storytelling skills while writing.

Table of contents

• Autobiography vs Memoir
• The Benefits of Writing an Autobiography
• Before You Write, Read
• Step 1: Decide on a Type and Scope
• Step 2: Research and Outline
• Step 3: Craft Your Story to Entertain
• Step 4: Write Your First Draft
• Step 5: Pause—Then Edit and Rewrite
• Step 6: Get a Professional Editor
• Step 7: Publish!
• How to Write an Autobiography: Conclusion

The Many Types of Autobiographies

An autobiography in its broadest terms is a book about a person's entire life (or at least the interesting parts), written by that person . If you wanted to write a book about someone else's life, you'd be writing a biography . 

But within the autobiography genre, there are many other subgenres to choose from. These include:

• Intellectual
• Religious/Spiritual

An intellectual autobiography focuses on the author's life in terms of intellectual evolution and fulfillment. Often (but not always) written by people who have had a lot of schooling, the intellectual autobiography aims to analyze how certain experiences affected the author's life in terms of education, intelligence, and thought patterns. 

A religious or spiritual autobiography is one concerning the author's spiritual enlightenment. If you've found God (in any form) or have gravitated to a more spiritual life as you've aged, then this could be a good genre for you.  

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Thematic autobiographies are those that look upon a person's life story through the lens of a certain theme. This could be love, loss, perseverance, family, or even something like mental health, addiction, or mental illness. If you've noticed a theme in your life that has influenced your choices repeatedly, a thematic autobiography could be a good choice for you. 

A fictional autobiography is one that uses events from the author's real life while changing certain other elements freely. There are no hard-and-fast rules about what can and can't be real—or what percentage of each you must include. It could be that you use mostly real events but embellish them, change characters around, or make up certain exchanges. The most important part is that you don't claim it's a true autobiography when it's really a fictional one.  

It can be easy to confuse an autobiography and a memoir—which is in fact a type of autobiographical writing . The big difference is that autobiographies cover the author's whole life. Memoirs, on the other hand, focus on certain aspects of the author's life, usually in service of a theme.  

If you want to focus on your career or your childhood instead of covering your whole life, then a memoir could be a better fit for you. If so, you can check out our memoir writing prompts article . 

There are a ton of benefits to writing an autobiography. There's an old adage that goes “write what you know.” And there's no better genre to do just that! By diving into your personal story and examining life lessons and experiences, you don't have to worry about getting writer's block. You know the plot and the characters, which can help you get into a rhythm. 

This can not only give you confidence as a writer, but it can also make you a better writer as you go. A good autobiography is a lot like a novel in a lot of ways, so you use the same skills you would in a novel by painting a picture for your reader. 

But the benefits don't end with developing as a writer. It can also help you deal with traumatic events and process significant moments in your life. The goal, after all, isn't to dwell on any perceived wrongs or get back at anyone. The goal is to make sense of your personal experience by turning it into a story that readers will enjoy. 

Now that we've covered that introductory ground, let's get into how to write an autobiography, step by step. 

I would be remiss if I didn't say that you must first familiarize yourself with autobiography examples before you can write one. As such, here are some famous autobiographies to read so you can see how it's done. 

• Autobiography of Mark Twain by Mark Twain
• The Story of My Life by Helen Keller
• I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and was Shot by the Taliban by Malala Yousafzai
• The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X
• Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela
• Agatha Christie: An Autobiography by Agatha Christie
• The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin by Benjamin Franklin
• Becoming by Michelle Obama
• The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

The Complete Guide to Autobiography Writing

Writing an autobiography can be a rewarding endeavor, but it’s not easy. Even though it’s about your own life, it still requires research, time, effort, and some writing skill to get done. The steps below take you through the writing process, from choosing your focus to choosing your publishing avenue. 

While an autobiography covers the author's whole life, that doesn't mean that every single detail needs to go in. Even if you could remember what you had for breakfast on April 7th when you were ten years old, there would be no reason to include it unless some significant event happened at that time. 

So the first step in the writing process is deciding what type of autobiography it will be . This, in turn, will help you decide on the scope. If it will be an intellectual autobiography, you may want to spend time focusing on your early schooling and how that impacted your ability to learn or your love of knowledge. 

On the other hand, if you're writing an autobiography themed on marriage or romantic love, you probably won't have a lot of ground to cover during your childhood years. 

Pro Tip: Write a short personal statement about why you want to write an autobiography. There's no wrong answer, but putting your “why” into words can help you keep focused through the process. 

Once you have your scope in mind, you can start doing research and outlining in broad strokes the exact events you want to cover. This is when your idea starts to take shape in your mind and on the page. 

Researching will mean delving into your family history, busting out the yearbooks, and opening up the (physical or digital) photo albums. It will mean talking to parents, friends, siblings, and other family members. To get things right, it's important not to rely just on your fallible memory. Get multiple perspectives and sources on any important event you plan to cover.  

This is also a great time to get permission to use people's names in your book. Everyone you include in the story by name should give their permission. While this isn’t legally required, it’s a courtesy. However, it’s unlikely you will be sued for anything you say in a book unless it is blatantly slanderous.

Research is a time-consuming step in the process. But it's essential for forming your autobiography in your mind. You may even learn things about your family that you never knew before!

Just write everything down (or record it) so you can reference what people have said later. Using all your research, start crafting an autobiography outline in a Word document or on paper. 

Pro Tip: If you're not sure you have enough to say to fill a book, you can write an autobiographical essay first. If you still feel like you have a lot to say after writing an essay of a few thousand words, then you may have a book's worth inside your head!

Since you don't have to include every single detail in your memoir, you get to prioritize certain things over others. And while most autobiographies move in chronological order, it doesn't preclude you from using a hook to engage your readers. 

Perhaps you want to open your autobiography with a single event that changed your life . If this means jumping forward in time in your autobiography introduction to hook the reader before jumping back to your childhood, then that's perfectly fine. 

The point is, your autobiography needs to entertain the reader. And to do this, you can craft it like a novel. The one thing your book shouldn't be is full of dry, academic writing.

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You're the protagonist of the autobiography. And being a human, you're flawed. Make this clear to the reader while also giving them a reason to like you and root for you early in the book. Unless you're writing a fictional autobiography, this needs to be a true anecdote. But it shouldn't be hard to find. 

Think about all the other people in your story as characters . Each family member is there as a supporting role to you, the protagonist. Like you, they need to be interesting, if not always likable. It also helps to include conflict early on. Most people experience plenty of conflict in their lives, so this isn't usually hard.

When you think about your autobiography in this way, you can then refine your outline – or write a whole new one—with this in mind.

And once you're confident that you have the structure you want, it's time to start writing!

Since you're writing about your own experiences, you'll probably want to stick to the first person point of view . This is the most common autobiography format—even for those written with the help of a ghostwriter. For many authors, this comes naturally because it's how we tell stories to each other. 

That said, writing “I” over and over again can get a little old. This is normal. Just take it as an opportunity to vary your sentences instead of starting every one of them with “I.”

The writing process is different for every author, but it's important that you commit to a certain word goal per day or week . Make this goal attainable and stick to it. If you go weeks or months without getting words down, you'll just have to work harder to get back into the rhythm of autobiography writing. 

That said, give yourself room to make mistakes during the first draft. When you accept that your first draft won’t be perfect and only focus on getting the words down, things get a lot easier. You can always go back and edit later. But you won’t have anything to edit if you don't write!

When you're done with your first draft, let it sit for a couple of weeks or a month. This will allow you to get some distance from the words, which can help you look at them with a critical eye when it comes time to work on your subsequent drafts. 

Some authors even do this after each consecutive draft. But many find that it's most beneficial after the first one. 

Whether you wait a week or a month or more is up to you. But you can certainly find a sweet spot that works best for your writing schedule. 

Recording your life story is no easy task. And you will, by definition, be close to it. So this distance is imperative to achieve a dispassionate look at it. From there, you can make changes and re-work it until you think it's ready for another pair of eyes. 

Once you've made your autobiography as good as you can make it, it's time to seek help. While you can certainly give a copy of the book to some friends and family to see what they think, keep in mind they're likely biased. Chances are they're also not professional editors, either. 

This is why it's always a good idea to hire an editor —preferably one who's familiar with autobiographies. Of course, there are many different kinds of editors. And taking a critical look at your book in step 5 is important for choosing the right kind. 

If you think there are some structural issues with the book, you may want to hire a developmental editor. If you want someone to find typos and grammar issues, then a line editor may be best. 

For more information, check out our article on different kinds of editing . 

No matter what kind you go with, getting the feedback of an unbiased professional can do wonders for your autobiography . 

Even if you're not looking to make millions with your autobiography, publishing can still be a lot of fun. While it's hard to get a book deal for an autobiography unless you're already a celebrity, self-publishing is always an option. 

With a formatted manuscript and a professional cover, you can have your book up on Amazon and other online retailers in short order. You can even order author copies of your paperback to give to friends and family. 

To learn more about this process, check out our self-publishing hub .  

Whether you want to sell your autobiography to a wide audience or simply have it around for future generations of your family to read, writing about your life experience is a worthwhile endeavor. It can help you become a better writer while reflecting on your life and the lessons learned. 

To cover your life story in a compelling manner means leaving some things out and focusing more on others. Pivotal moments in your life should be the “plot points” of your autobiography. Striving to meet some goal should create a through-line for the reader. And the setbacks on your way to that goal can create the conflict needed to keep things interesting. 

Of course, all this should be true—unless you're writing a fictional autobiography!

Dave Chesson

When I’m not sipping tea with princesses or lightsaber dueling with little Jedi, I’m a book marketing nut. Having consulted multiple publishing companies and NYT best-selling authors, I created Kindlepreneur to help authors sell more books. I’ve even been called “The Kindlepreneur” by Amazon publicly, and I’m here to help you with your author journey.

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